We have completed the annual review of the Functioning Legal Knowledge (the FLK) for SQE1 and SQE2.

There have been no substantive changes made to the FLK. Any changes have been made by way of clarification and/or guidance and are summarised below.

Updated versions of the Assessment Specifications have been published on the SQE website (see below) to apply from 1 September 2025. However, the examinable content of the FLK will remain the same under both versions of the Assessment Specifications as there have been no substantive changes to the FLK.

Updated Assessment Specifications

The updated versions of the Assessment Specifications will apply from 1 September 2025.

The updated specifications are:

• SQE1 Assessment Specification (containing FLK1 and FLK2)
• SQE2 Assessment Specification (containing the SQE2 FLK)

Current Assessment Specifications

The current Assessment Specifications can be found here:

• SQE1 (FLK1 and FLK2)
• SQE2 FLK

Aims of the FLK annual review

The aims were to:

• update the FLK to reflect changes in the law and practice and make any other essential changes
• offer clarification in the light of feedback from stakeholders where necessary.

Information on the process was published in January 2025.

What has changed

As mentioned above, there have been no substantive changes to the FLK.

The changes made below are by way of clarification based on feedback received as part of the FLK annual review process. They do not represent a change in approach.

There have been some changes made to the SQE1 Assessment Specification as follows:

• Amendments to provide consistency throughout the assessment specification on the naming conventions of certain subject areas.
• The percentage of Professional Conduct and Ethics and money laundering questions that can be assessed in SQE1 has been added to Annex 4 of the SQE1 Assessment Specification.
• Additional guidance on the type of scenario that Professional Conduct and Ethics questions can be set in has been added.

There has been one change made to the SQE2 Assessment Specification as follows:

• Guidance on the need to recall specific case names, or cite statutory or regulatory authorities has been added to the assessment specification to provide clarification and consistency between SQE1 and SQE2.

Learn more: FLK annual review